Slackers on Film and Slacker Theory

Today at work I had to come up with a theme of materials related to the film we were showing. The film was (wince) Knocked Up, so I decided to see what else was available on slackers. Then I remembered how Extreme English said she really laughed at Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Apparently slackers have been a very rich source of comedy!

The Free Dictionary had a nice slacker film list to add to what I already found. So, if you're in the mood, try one of these:
Wayne's World
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The Breakfast Club
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
School of Rock
Back to the Future
The Simpsons
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

I also like the Free Dictionary's description of slacker theory:

managing to survive by doing things at the last possible moment improves intellect as a compensatory way to cope, fashioning a wily yet lazy person. Similarly, a disorganized lifestyle may be superior to an organized one from the pragmatic perspective that a slacker will adapt to disorderliness by improving skills at memorization and at effortlessly rummaging, whereas actively organizing would require serious effort.

If that's the case, I was definitely a slacker all through school daze. Interesting how I've reformed and become a professional organizer of information - a librarian!

The Bishops and Movies

Back when I was a teenager, I can remember greedily looking for the "C" (for CONDEMNED) movies on the list posted in the church vestibule. Not that I - a first child/A-student/"good girl" - would even know how to see one, much less dare to do it, but I always enjoyed seeing the titles of the supposedly hellish films.

Now I find myself looking at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Website for their list of good films to see. The Ten Best of 2007 list starts with this interesting comment, "Though on-screen violence, like sexuality, can often be gratuitous, 2007 saw a surfeit of major films in which it played a strong -- but dramatically essential -- part. Each of them was artistically outstanding and has already been widely honored by many of the awards competitions and in top-10 lists." Things have changed! No longer do you get only films like Song of Bernadette and Sound of Music. I actually like most of the films they recommend, although some are so hard to find that even I can't get hold of them. But take a look.